[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 51 (Tuesday, May 3, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               IN SUPPORT OF A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

                                 ______


                             HON. BOB CARR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 3, 1994

  Mr. CARR. Mr. Speaker, it is easy to talk about cutting the deficit, 
about controlling spending, about growing our economy, and crating 
jobs. Easy to talk about it, but tough to do it. That is why we need a 
balanced budget amendment. We are not going to grow our economy, create 
opportunities, and provide jobs unless, and until, we control spending 
and reduce the deficit. A balanced budget amendment can provide the 
discipline that is sorely needed. More than that, the right balanced 
budget amendment can also make sure that we make smart investments in 
our future.
  Let's be real: The balanced budget amendment offered by Congressman 
Stenholm is not the magic pill to cure our fiscal headache. It does 
deliver a powerful message to the American people that we understand 
that the Federal Government ought to play by the same rules they do: 
invest wisely, and don's spend what you don't have. I support the 
Stenholm amendment, but I believe that the best balanced budget 
amendment is one that requires Congress to balance its operating 
budget, not a unified budget which incorporates long-term capital 
investments.
  If we are going to expand opportunity and create jobs, then our goal 
must be smart, strong investments. The same way a family recognizes the 
difference between its grocery bills and its mortgage payments, we must 
recognize the difference between our every day operating expenses and 
the long-term capital investments that will secure our future. The best 
balanced budget amendment would establish a separate capital budget to 
make sure we respect those long-term investments. Otherwise we 
shortchange our future, and our children's future.
  Almost all State Governments, businesses, private citizens--in short, 
everyone who makes long-term capital investments--can budget those 
long-term investments over time. Everyone except the Federal 
Government, that is. Imagine a young couple looking to buy a house and 
being told that they cannot get a mortgage, but rather have to pay the 
entire cost up front. That is what the Federal Government does every 
time it builds a bridge or a long-range bomber or a wastewater 
treatment facility--pay up front for an investment that in reality pays 
back over many years.
  A capital budgeting strategy like the one proposed in Congressman 
Wise's amendment would recognize this reality, and it would force 
Congress to make a distinction between the expenditures it makes today 
that are gone tomorrow, and the long-term investments that offer their 
rewards over time. A constitutional amendment requiring Congress to 
balance its operating budget would prevent overblown spending. Setting 
aside a capital budget would ensure that the 9 percent of outlays which 
go to long-term investments in our Nation's economy would not get 
swallowed up in the process.
  Congressman Wise's amendment also provides for the continued economic 
security of our Nation's senior citizens, by setting the Social 
Security Trust Fund outside of Federal budget calculations. This 
provision of the Wise amendment, like the capital budgeting strategy, 
is one I strongly endorse.
  The merit of properly budgeting capital expenditures is only one of 
the many lessons the Federal Government can learn from the private 
sector. Another lesson is the value of setting strict standards for 
long-term investments. We need to change our decisionmaking process and 
adopt the kind of objective economic criteria I established at the 
Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee to make sure our investments 
are driven by economic value and return, not by politics.
  Economic growth and job creation demand the fiscal discipline and 
responsibility that a balanced budget and a capital budgeting strategy 
can provide. That is why I am supporting the Stenholm and Wise 
amendments, and why I am determined to gain passage of a balanced 
budget amendment that will truly deliver on its promise to the American 
people who every day work hard and play by the rules. They deserve a 
Government that works just as hard and plays by the same rules.

                          ____________________